Re: How old is language?
George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Fri, 30 Jul 1999 06:55:19 -0400
mortongr@flash.net wrote:
>
> I just ran into a novel argument for a relatively ancient language among
> humans. Derek Bickerton wrote:
>
> "Consider too the issues raised by human dispersion. Until a couple of
> centuries ago, native Australians had been separated from the rest of the
> species for around fifty thousand years. However, Australian languages
> have the same forms of organization as all other languages. Suppose
> language really was a cultural invention: it must thus have been invented
> prior to the separation of Australians from the rest of the species." Derek
> Bickerton, Language and Human Behavior, (Seattle: University of Washington
> Press, 1995), p. 68
No doubt I could get this answer by reading his book, but what does he
consder the "same forms of organization as all other language?"
..............................
> If language, a very human activity has been around for even 80,000 years,
> then Christian apologetics needs a major revision.
Depends on your apologetics.
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/